Dick Van Dyke

Dick Van Dyke, original name Richard Wayne Van Dyke, (born December 13, 1925, West Plains, Missouri, U.S.), American actor and comedian known for his affable charm, comedic timing, and loose-limbed physical comedy. These traits contributed to the enduring popularity of the television show The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–66).

A 1962 episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show.Public Domain video

Van Dyke grew up in Danville, Illinois, and was introduced to theatre while he was in high school. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces, where he worked as a radio announcer and later performed in service shows. However, after his discharge in 1946, he opened an advertising agency in Danville. He began a career in show business only after that venture failed a year later.

In 1947–53 Van Dyke and a partner played in nightclubs with a comedy pantomime act, billed as the Merry Mutes. Throughout the 1950s he appeared, often as host, on various television game and variety shows before making his Broadway debut in 1959 in the short-lived musical revue The Girls Against the Boys. He was then cast in the lead role as Albert Peterson in the original musical Bye Bye Birdie (1960–61). The show was a hit, winning four Tony Awards, including best musical, and Van Dyke took the Tony for best featured actor in a musical. He later reprised the role for the 1963 film version.

Van Dyke’s success with Bye Bye Birdie led to his being cast as comedy writer Rob Petrie in the comedy series The Dick Van Dyke Show, created by Carl Reiner. The show received 15 Emmy Awards, and Van Dyke’s performance garnered three of them (1964–66). It remained popular in syndication, and the character of Rob Petrie is perhaps the role with which Van Dyke is most associated.

During the run of the show, Van Dyke also developed a film career, most notably in the dual role of street merchant Bert and bank manager Mr. Dawes Senior in the classic musical Mary Poppins (1964), the soundtrack to which earned him a Grammy Award. He later won praise for his performance as Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), a musical film based on Ian Fleming’s children’s book, and he also appeared in such light comedies as What a Way to Go! (1964) and Divorce American Style (1967).

He returned to television, playing a talk-show host in the family sitcom The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971–74). He later was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of an alcoholic in the TV movie The Morning After (1974), and in 1977 he was a regular performer on The Carol Burnett Show. He also hosted the short-lived variety show Van Dyke and Company (1976), which took the Emmy for outstanding comedy-variety or music series. For the next decade he appeared in TV movies and guest roles in various TV series. A 1988 sitcom in which he costarred with his son Barry Van Dyke, The Van Dyke Show, was canceled after only a few episodes.

In 1990 he appeared in Warren Beatty’s film Dick Tracy. A guest role the following year as Dr. Mark Sloane in the crime series Jake and the Fatman led to two TV movies in 1992 based on the character and then to the popular drama series Diagnosis Murder (1993–2001), in which he again shared the lead with his son. His later film credits included Night at the Museum (2006) and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014). Van Dyke was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1995.